Related Articles

“We know they are bizarre and outdated but they get their identity from those traditions and they feel very strongly that how you treat your women is a demonstration of your commitment to radicalism and extremist thought,” he told BBC Radio 4.

But Reefat Draboo of the Muslim Council of Britain denied the link, claiming that "honour" violence was a cultural practice, and not a matter of faith.

“This is to do with misguided notions of family honour. It has nothing to do with radicalism or terrorism,” she said.

According to the United Nations Population Fund, 5,000 women a year die in honour killings. There were twelve such murders recorded in the UK last year.

Two weeks ago, three men were found guilty of the murder of 20-year-old Banaz Mahmod who was found in a suitcase buried in a garden in Birmingham last year.

Miss Mahmod had been strangled by contract killers after her father discovered she had been having an affair with a man her family did not approve of.